Haute Couture, Fall 2016: The most elaborate catwalks

Haute Couture garments evoke fantasy, they are light-years away from the current fashion sphere of ready to wear. These designs are not your average work clothes, or even fancy evening wear garments; instead they are a stream of tulle, chiffon and in the case of Iris Van Herpen’s creations, almost 1,000 blown glass bubbles crafted on a dress. And so, very rarely will anything be as awe-inspiring as the designs on the Haute Couture catwalk, but this season, designers also dazzled with their catwalk backdrops.

Here’s our pick of the best:

Show: Fendi

Set: The Trevi Fountain in Rome.Theme: The #LegendsandFairytales collection to celebrate 90 years of Fendi. The clothes were created with “sheer layers and intricate beading to convey the romantic and avant-garde feel of the collection”.

Show: Chanel

Set: A recreation of the Chanel Ateliers at the Rue Cambon where the collections are madeTheme: #ChanelAteliers, complete with pattern cutting tables, seamstresses who draped on stage as part of the catwalk production and models standing waiting to be pinned – the entire show was created to celebrate the magic of painstakingly hand crafted garments; the antithesis of fast fashion.

A photo posted by Schiaparelli official (@elsaschiaparelli) on Jul 4, 2016 at 1:02am PDT

Show: Dolce & Gabbana

Set: Piazza San Gaetano, Castel dell’Ovo and Bagno Elen, in Naples.

Theme: #DGLovesNaples

The luxury label’s Alta Sartoria (menswear show) and Alta Moda (womenswear show) paid homage to Naples, with the city’s key sites and thoroughfares becoming the runway. Each night ended with a fireworks spectacle and on the final night there was a carnival themed party!